Dragonball hunt! Need feedback!

[Omega_gamer_89]

Ok, I know this is uber mega early, but what the hey.

Im planning to do a scavenger hunt-type event/panel at the next tekko. But its not your normal hunt for a list of random items, oh no.
You're gonna be hunting the Dragonballs.

My plan is basically this: Buy a crapload of super bouncy balls, spray paint them orange, and paint 1 to 7 stars on them. There will be more than one complete set of Dragonballs, probably 4 or 5 sets of 7 each. Collect 1 full set, comprised of all 7 different balls, and then take them to the panel room to make your wish. Now, because I'll have to make more than 1 set of Dragonballs, their power will be diminished. Therefore, you'll only be able to wish for one of a certain list of items. (Thems is the prizes right thar)


Now Im considering 2 different formats of doing this. They're outlined below.

EDIT: I realize format 2 is kinda long winded and rambling. Im gonna clean that up and make it more clear tomorrow. For now, I needz teh sleep.

FORMAT #1: Elder format

• 5 complete sets of Dragonballs are located throughout the con.
• Each Dragonball is entrusted to an "Elder". The elders will be volunteers, con staff, and sometimes just seemingly random con goers.
• Clues and hints will be given out to contestants at the beginning of the panel.
• Each contestant will receive a different hint, leading them to a different Elder and a different ball
• After locating an Elder, the contestant must successfully complete the Elder's challenge to receive the Dragonball
• After receiving a Dragonball, the Elder will give the contestant a new hint.
• Hints given by different Elders may lead to the same Dragonball, and thus an Elder may have given away his or her Dragonball when a contestant finds him or her.
• Once a contestant has found all 7* Dragonballs, the contestant must bring them to the panel and make their wish**
• Contestants may wish for any prize on the prize list, and all wishes will be granted if possible.
• If a wish cannot be granted***, the contestant will be allowed to make a different wish.
• Upon having their wish granted, the contestant's Dragonballs will turn to stone.****

*Contestant must have 1 each of the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 star Dragonballs to be considered to have found all 7. Duplicate Dragonballs do not count twice, IE, having a 1 star, a 2 star, a 3 star, a 4 star, a 5 star, and 2 separate 6 star Dragonballs does not count.
**Making a wish means picking which prize you want from the price list.
***If a prize is no longer available, then the wish is considered unable to be granted.
****Turned to stone means the Dragonballs will be returned to the panel operators. All Dragonballs must be returned to receive a prize.


FORMAT #2: Hunter format

• 5 complete sets of Dragonballs are distributed amongst the contestants* at the begiining of the event.
• Each contestant receives 1 randomly selected Dragonball, concealed in a paper bag, and one contestant badge. The badge must be worn at all times during the contest.
• Contestants are not allowed to open their bags, or attempt to determine which Dragonball they received, until the official start of the hunt.
• After all contestants have received their Dragonball and the rules have been explained, all contestants are to disperse throughout the convention center.
• The hunt will officially start 2 hours after the Dragonballs are handed out.
• When the hunt begins, contestants are to open their bag and find out which Dragonball the received.
• The hunt will last until the last day of the convention, at which point all contestants are to report to the panel room for judging and wish granting.
• During the hunt, contestants are to seek out other contestants. Both contestants must show the other which Dragonball(s) they have. Contestants must reveal all Dragonballs in their possession.
• At that point, either contestant may challenge the other to a rock-paper-scissors match.
• If one contestant issues a challenge, the other must accept or forfeit 1 of their Dragonballs.
• If neither contestant wishes to issue a challenge, then neither contestant is obligated to do so.
• If a challenge is issued and accepted, the players must agree on how many Dragonballs they will bet on the challenge. There is no maximum bet, but there is a minimum bet of 1.
• Whichever contestant wins 2 out of 3 games of rock-paper-scissors wins all the Dragonballs that were bet on the match.
• If a contestant loses all of their Dragonballs, they are eliminated. A contestant may not particpate in a challenge if they have no Dragonballs to bet.
• Once a contestant has acquired at least 1 of each Dragonball, they many no longer issue challenges, but must still accept challenges issued by others.
• At the end of the hunt, all remaining contestants must report to the panel room for the final round and then wish granting.
• During the final round, all remaining contestants must present all their remaining Dragonballs to the judges.
• Any contestants with 1 or more full set(s) of Dragonballs may move on to making their wish.
• Any contestants who still possess a Dragonball(s), but not a full set, may engage in final 2 out of 3 rock-paper-scissors matches.
• Final matches require that all remaining Dragongballs be bet.
• Any contestant not wishing to participate in the final matches may turn over their remaining Dragonballs to the Judges.
• Any Dragonballs turned over to the judges may be won by remaining contestants by answering trivia questions. One Dragonball is given out for each correct answer, until all Dragonballs have been given out.
• At this point, contestants may make their wishes from the prize list. One wish is given for each complete set of Dragonballs

SO! Thoughts? Suggestions? Likes? Dislikes? Ideas?

Let me know what you think!

[/list]

[Zerker]

I'm going to list some random thoughts I had. I apologise for the lack of consistancy in my questions.


What if someone random wants to join in? If 5-7 sets equal 35-49 DBs, then only 1% of the people who attend can participate. Is there a way you can make more sets? Would you be able to do abunc of small sets for small prizes, but a few Namekian DBs (big 'uns) to be wagered at ONLY 1 at a time with a 5/7-round of RPS (rock-paper-scissors)? Can there be three-way battles with equal wagers? Scenario: Person AB has 3 DBs (1*, 2*, 3*). Person CD has 2 DBs (1*. 2*). Person CD initiates combat, but Person AB declines since they don't want doubles. Does Person AB still have to fight? A person at the end has a complete set plus one extra DB. Do they hand that one over at the end which will be used for trivia? Can a person just give away their DB due to lack of interest/pity/leaving the con/personal favors? Would you give a set out to some contest panels to be used as prizes? (i.e. A DB is a 1st place prize at a Sleeping Samurai tournament.) What were you thinking about giving out for some prizes? Dragon Radar? Will you be willing to safeguard or hold onto the DBs at each day's end for fear of them being stolen?

Bout all I have currently. I like the idea. ^^ I hope my questions weren't too annoying.

Obviously I'm into format 2 because doing quests can be annoying... Maybe not all sets but a few sets? Like, if you do 7 sets, give 1 set to 7 Elders and have that. I feel that hunting and battling for them is more adherent to the series since you ca meet many zany characters that way. :3

[Omega_gamer_89]

What if someone random wants to join in?

Well, as its a contest-type panel, you'd have to sign up before hand. So unfortunately, a random person cannot join in after the contest has started.

If 5-7 sets equal 35-49 DBs, then only 1% of the people who attend can participate.

Thats another problem in looking into solving, is that not a lot of people can participate. The problem is that I have to buy all the bouncy balls and paint, and then paint the bouncy balls to look like Dragonballs. Another thing is that Dragonballs are supposed to super uber ultra mega extra special rare. It kills part of the fun and makes it a little too easy if there's 300 of the floating around the con.

I did just have an idea though; A 3rd format, which is pretty much the first 2 combined. You go out and hunt for the small (Earth) Dragonballs, and win the in rock-paper-scissors, THEN after you get a complete set, you trade that set in to one of the Elders, who gives you 1 large (Namekian) Dragonball. Only the Namekian balls will grant wishes.
That format may be just a little too time consuming/too much effort for the contestants...

Can there be three-way battles with equal wagers?

Possibly, but Im not sure for now. Ill look into that. The problem is, if we do 3 way battles, we cant use RPS.

Scenario: Person AB has 3 DBs (1*, 2*, 3*). Person CD has 2 DBs (1*. 2*). Person CD initiates combat, but Person AB declines since they don't want doubles. Does Person AB still have to fight?

Hmm... That is a good question, and I see how that could be a problem/annoyance to the contestants, but... Yes. Person AB WOULD have to accept. In the show, you cant just decline a fight, you know? If someone is trying to steal your Dragonball, they're gonna beat you and take it, whether or not you fight back. So yes, you MUST accept ANY challenge issued. However, I will have to put in a rule that you cant challenge the same person more than once in a certain time frame.

A person at the end has a complete set plus one extra DB. Do they hand that one over at the end which will be used for trivia?

They can either turn it in for trivia, or choose to give it away to another contestant, as long as the person the give it to doesnt already have a complete set. The final round of RPS is only for contestants with less than 1 complete set. If a contestant has 1 complete set, plus 1 or more extras, they may not participate in the final round RPS.

Can a person just give away their DB due to lack of interest/pity/leaving the con/personal favors?

Yes, but only to other contestants.

Would you give a set out to some contest panels to be used as prizes? (i.e. A DB is a 1st place prize at a Sleeping Samurai tournament.)

Yes, definitely. Thats an excellent idea.

What were you thinking about giving out for some prizes?

Not sure on that yet. Im still looking into it.

Dragon Radar?

What do you mean by that? If you mean will be be making some sort of dragon radar for use in the contest, then no. I cant think of a way to do it that wouldnt be insanely expensive.

Will you be willing to safeguard or hold onto the DBs at each day's end for fear of them being stolen?

Nope, all contestants must watch their own balls. (Intended pun is intended) Thats all part of the game.

[Zerker]

What if someone random wants to join in?

Well, as its a contest-type panel, you'd have to sign up before hand. So unfortunately, a random person cannot join in after the contest has started.

Oh. Alright. Then can I sign up now? Or reserve my spot? lol

If 5-7 sets equal 35-49 DBs, then only 1% of the people who attend can participate.

Thats another problem in looking into solving, is that not a lot of people can participate. The problem is that I have to buy all the bouncy balls and paint, and then paint the bouncy balls to look like Dragonballs. Another thing is that Dragonballs are supposed to super uber ultra mega extra special rare. It kills part of the fun and makes it a little too easy if there's 300 of the floating around the con. I did just have an idea though; A 3rd format, which is pretty much the first 2 combined. You go out and hunt for the small (Earth) Dragonballs, and win the in rock-paper-scissors, THEN after you get a complete set, you trade that set in to one of the Elders, who gives you 1 large (Namekian) Dragonball. Only the Namekian balls will grant wishes.
That format may be just a little too time consuming/too much effort for the contestants...

301 DBs would be 43 sets. Haha Also, your new format is very time consuming. You’re pretty much farming. Haha Maybe the numbers shouldn’t be the main issue currently. If you had 301 DBs, then 150 people would be out after one match. That’s not too bad, but that’s 150 who are sad after losing the first round. If we had 98 DBs (14 sets), that’s less people sad, but 14 different prizes you need. The focus should be more on how the Hunt will be done. Numbers can be made later. Sorry for bringing that up so early.

Can there be three-way battles with equal wagers?

Possibly, but Im not sure for now. Ill look into that. The problem is, if we do 3 way battles, we cant use RPS.

I think there can be. It will just take longer and be a little more complicated. Just as a 3-way battle should be. Lol After all, Vegeta, Goku, and Gohan did to decide who would fight during the early Majin saga.

Scenario: Person AB has 3 DBs (1*, 2*, 3*). Person CD has 2 DBs (1*. 2*). Person CD initiates combat, but Person AB declines since they don't want doubles. Does Person AB still have to fight?

Hmm... That is a good question, and I see how that could be a problem/annoyance to the contestants, but... Yes. Person AB WOULD have to accept. In the show, you cant just decline a fight, you know? If someone is trying to steal your Dragonball, they're gonna beat you and take it, whether or not you fight back. So yes, you MUST accept ANY challenge issued. However, I will have to put in a rule that you cant challenge the same person more than once in a certain time frame.

I think that’s fair. Especially the cool-off time frame. Like, give the person 2-3 hours until you challenge them again. If anything, if Person AB won, then they can bid with the double.

A person at the end has a complete set plus one extra DB. Do they hand that one over at the end which will be used for trivia?

They can either turn it in for trivia, or choose to give it away to another contestant, as long as the person the give it to doesnt already have a complete set. The final round of RPS is only for contestants with less than 1 complete set. If a contestant has 1 complete set, plus 1 or more extras, they may not participate in the final round RPS.

Can a person collect more than one set for another prize? Can they collect and give other DBs to friends for their wish? Can someone make a wish before the con’s end and get their prize? If yes, and the DBs turn to stone (wrap them in foil?), that set will be considered out of the Hunt, correct?
 

Would you give a set out to some contest panels to be used as prizes? (i.e. A DB is a 1st place prize at a Sleeping Samurai tournament.)

Yes, definitely. Thats an excellent idea.

Honestly, I told my friend about it and she made the joke about having it on display and not selling it or giving it up. Lol That’s where I got the idea. I think it would be interesting, but if done, it should be advertised to the group. OMG You can advertise through the Hunt! lol

What were you thinking about giving out for some prizes?

Not sure on that yet. Im still looking into it.

If you do the Namekian DBs, I totally think you should give out much greater prizes. I’m not saying a box set of an anime, but maybe some gift cards/certificates to a local restaurant. Maybe even work something out with a dealer or artist?

Dragon Radar?

What do you mean by that? If you mean will be be making some sort of dragon radar for use in the contest, then no. I cant think of a way to do it that wouldnt be insanely expensive.

Yeah, no hi-tech stuff. Sorry for not being clear. I really had no idea what to write about it until like 2 minutes ago. Maybe use it as a name tag to let others know, “Hey! I’m in the Hunt!”

An idea for another format could be combining your formats in another way. Complicated sentence. Instead of trading them in for Namekian DBs, why not have them do what Krillin and Gohan did; be a nice person and earn them from an Elder. Such that a person who is in the contest, whether they have 0-whatever amount of DBs, locates an Elder and must do a specific task. These can be taking a certain cosplay photo (nothing ero/raunchy/sexually explicit), doing an embarrassing song and dance for karaoke, trivia, or winning a battle of sorts (RPS, thumb wars, CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES, boffer fight, etc). When completed, the Elder gives them the NDB and that’s it. To limit the amount of NDBs, how about releasing only 3 sets, like, one each day before Sunday. Yes, Gogal confirmed that Tekko IX will be Thurs-Sunday again. That way, each day is a new chance to do a task to get the NDBs. If there is an RPS battle for NDBs, then I think it should be best of five rounds instead of three.  If attendance is down, I say only 1 set of NDBs if you do them at all.

[Omega_gamer_89]

Can a person collect more than one set for another prize? Can they collect and give other DBs to friends for their wish? Can someone make a wish before the con’s end and get their prize? If yes, and the DBs turn to stone (wrap them in foil?), that set will be considered out of the Hunt, correct?

I think that being able to make more than 1 wish if you collect more than 1 full set is reasonable, but I'll definitely still put some limit on how many wishes you can get, regardless of how many complete sets you collect. It wouldnt be very fair if one person got 20 wishes. A maximum of 3 sounds good.

If you do the Namekian DBs, I totally think you should give out much greater prizes. I’m not saying a box set of an anime, but maybe some gift cards/certificates to a local restaurant. Maybe even work something out with a dealer or artist?

Oh yeah, of course. The prizes for Namekian balls would be a lot better than the ones for Earth balls. After all, Namekian balls are so much bigger, and everyone loves big balls.
(Balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls)
BALLS.
...
Sorry, I had to.

An idea for another format could be combining your formats in another way. Tongue Complicated sentence. Instead of trading them in for Namekian DBs, why not have them do what Krillin and Gohan did; be a nice person and earn them from an Elder. Such that a person who is in the contest, whether they have 0-whatever amount of DBs, locates an Elder and must do a specific task. These can be taking a certain cosplay photo (nothing ero/raunchy/sexually explicit), doing an embarrassing song and dance for karaoke, trivia, or winning a battle of sorts (RPS, thumb wars, CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES, boffer fight, etc). When completed, the Elder gives them the NDB and that’s it. To limit the amount of NDBs, how about releasing only 3 sets, like, one each day before Sunday. Yes, Gogal confirmed that Tekko IX will be Thurs-Sunday again. That way, each day is a new chance to do a task to get the NDBs. If there is an RPS battle for NDBs, then I think it should be best of five rounds instead of three.  If attendance is down, I say only 1 set of NDBs if you do them at all.

Hmmm... I like that. Ill definitely consider that.

[Zerker]

^^ I'm the most helpful person in this thread.

[Omega_gamer_89]

^^ I'm the most helpful person in this thread.

True. But only because you and I are the only ones here, and I cant be "helpful", because Im the one being helped.

[Zerker]

Thus I win. lol

[ludus]

I can join in the thread! Though Zerker will still be the most helpful, but at least he'll have earned it. XD

About the second format--what if a bunch of friends compete and just give 1 person their Dragonballs? I like think the first format ensures that someone really does have to win a challenge to get a Dragonball.

[feytaline]

In no way am I endorsing this as an official persona of Tekkoshocon INC, but I think you can make this work, and make it fun, and do it without being stupid and thus violating rule #1.  Just keep talking to the people in charge of course.  

It's actually a pretty unique idea to get DBZ fans together aside from the usual panel format, and I am a fan of pretty much any activity that gets people up and moving.  I think the first format would be best but I'll be perfectly honest, I haven't sat down and really thought deeply about this.  I think you guys have it under control with your discussion and will present a pretty polished idea in the end, especially since you're planning now to work out any potential kinks!

Seriously can I have some of that energy.... heh.

[Zerker]

I would enjoy seeing more people involved or discussing in this forum... Something tells me Omega and I did not cover everything... I mean, I just went Super Saiyan with ideas and Omega was very quick to respond so we got some good ideas forming. I'd liek to see mroe brainstorming. I'm all for format 2, but others seem to like format 1. Discuss! I'm not running the panel. XDD Say what you like!

Ludus, I can see your point as plausible, but I think the prizes would be for single people, so they'd have to agree to share the "trophy." Even then, it will be random with distribution. If you got 7 friends in on the game, you may wind up with a full set, maybe a few copies, or even all 7 being 5 star DBs! In the end, there can only be one winner, and this is a gamble of sorts to win a DB so there is still a chace to lose it all. The reason I was not a fan of the first format is that not many people can compete in the game, and what if a staffer is busy and you cannot locate them later? People move around. It's better, IMO, that they be regular con-goers who have control over a majority of the DBs than people who are working.

[ludus]

Well, i'll try. I'm not a DB fan, so I can't help with adding plot points into the hunt, though.

What if you combined both formats? You could have more people win and less people compete. (though that also increases the number of prizes you'd need.) x number of people sign up and are allowed to RPS with each other for DBs, but they are also allowed to find specific people and compete challenges. (or they HAVE to get a DB through a challenge. Like you pass out only 1-6 stars, and the challenge people have the 7s) Give a list of clues to all the people that have 7s so that people will be able to figure out at least 1 clue, and with multiple people, even if it's a staffer or something, there's others to get the same DB from.

[Omega_gamer_89]

AHH!!! I just thought of what may be the best way yet!
Ok, its yet ANOTHER WAY to combine the two formats;
Its essentially the hunter format, where contestants sign up, then disperse and play rock paper scissors to win Dragonballs from each other... BUT!!! They arent GIVEN a ball to start with! See, you sign up on a first come first served basis, since there would only be X number of entries available. Each entrant would be required to provide their cell phone number, and enter the official "event phones" into their address book. (Ill explain why in a moment.)
The entrants would NOT receive any Dragonballs to start, but they WOULD still be required to wear a entrant badge with their name on it, and keep it clearly visible. After signing up and providing their number, each entrant would just go elsewhere and go go about their normal business around the con.
Once we have all the entry slots filled, or once we reach the start-time deadline, each entrant would receive a text from one of the "event phones", giving them a clue as to where their first Dragonball is located.
The clues would most likely be in the form of a riddle or maybe a play on words, and would lead them to an elder who would reward them with a Dragonball once the entrant completes a task or answers another riddle or some such thing. There would be just enough "starter" Dragonballs for each contestant to get ONE. Each elder would have only one ball, or two IF we cant get enough elders.
As the day goes on, we (the panel operators and I) would send out another clue to each contestant, leading to another elder, or more likely, one of the previous/same elders, but now with a second Dragonball. In the latter case, the elders would have all of their Dragonballs for the whole weekend given to them on the first day, but would be instructed to only give out pone Dragonball per clue-time-period. The elders would also each receive a text, just before the texts were sent out to the entrants.

We would likely send out 2 or 3 texts to each entrant each day, and a few final texts on the last day alerting entrants that the deadline is approaching and they must return to the panel room soon.

Now, I know it may seem crazy for me to suggest that we send 20-something-plus people a text three times a day, but dont worry. we would be using prepaid phones for it. I have some in mind that cost about $30 for a 60 minute prepaid card, and texts only cost 0.3 minutes each. So if we send one text to each of 20 entrants, that only costs 6 minutes. Do that 3 times a day for 3 days, and its just 54 minutes. Not a big deal.
Plus, the texting is kind of closer to giving the entrants a Dragon Radar, you know? That just makes it 100X more awesome.

[ludus]

To ensure that contestants aren't running all over the con every single time they need to find an elder, maybe some (or all?) of the riddles can point to elders in specific locations? Like an artist in AA, or a staffer in the TCG room, or a panelist right after their panel. That way, elders can participate and not have to drop everything they're doing every time there's a challenge, and contestants have a specific location to go to instead of looking everywhere.

[Omega_gamer_89]

Oh, yeah sorry. Shouldve made that more clear. The elders, as much as possible, would be stationary, or at LEAST would stay in a certain area. Obviously, we wont be able to get 20-plus people to just sit in one spot all day. (Or any, really). A lot of the elders would be people who already be staying in one place for most of the day. Panelists, Artist Alley people, maybe the people who run stuff like sleeping Samurai, or that one photo place with the different backgrounds, or maybe even a few of the dealers in the dealers room. And then, there would be other people who would stay in a general area, and others who just roamed freely around the con. All the hints would be about the person; their costume, gender, height, hair color, etc... The hints would lead you to the person, with a general idea of where to start looking.

I wasnt gonna ask people to just sit in one place and not enjoy themselves. Lol, Im not THAT big of a ackas..